DOVER — With some strong runners returning and some promising new faces mixed in, the Oyster River High School boys and Coe-Brown girls cross-country teams are well equipped to defend their respective titles in Division II.

All division meets take place Saturday at Derryfield Park in Manchester. Top runners and teams will advance from there to the Meet of Champions on Nov. 5 at Mines Falls in Nashua. The New Englands are set for Nov. 12 in Ponaganset, R.I.

"We're defending champs and I feel good about this year," said OR coach Greg Gephart. "It will be competitive."

The Bobcats return three runners from last year's championship team that finished in the top-20 in the D-II meet. Senior Jack Collopy won the individual title, while Ryan Brady was fifth and Chris Olivier was 20th. Collopy will be the favorite in Saturday's D-II race and OR has enough depth to repeat as team champs.

"Jack has been running well all season," Gephart said.

Standout freshman Cam Barth and junior Thomas Caulfield are the Bobcats' third and fourth runners. Caulfield was the JV team's top runner in 2010 and has made great strides this year. Barth has had an immediate impact behind Collopy and Brady.

"We have a big target on our backs," Gephart said. Souhegan and Portsmouth figure to be two teams to challenge the Bobcats. Both are ranked in the top 10 in New Hampshire, along with OR, and Souhegan is even rated higher than the Bobcats. Oyster River beat Souhegan head to head at the Bobcat Invitational and indirectly beat them at the Manchester Invitational, even though they ran in different divisions.

Portsmouth is paced by Ben Landry, Beckley Stearns and Rick Greeley. The Clippers beat OR at the Black Bear Invitational earlier this month in Northwood.

St. Thomas Aquinas senior Thomas O'Leary is a top-five threat. He was sixth last year in the D-II meet.

In Division I, Dover senior James Godin is a threat to break the top five. He was fifth last year and ninth at the Meet of Champions.

The Coe-Brown girls lost their best runner in Corey Dowe, but have three strong runners back, including senior Alex Archambault, who was fifth in the 2010 D-II race. Sophomores Jessie Carney and Lexie Buiel were 17th and 20th, respectively.

CBNA coach Brent Tkaczyk figures Hanover and Bedford will be part of a three-way tussle in the battle for the title. Coe-Brown won the championship last year, ending a six-year run by Hanover.

"We feel like we're in the mix," Tkaczyk said. "We're hoping to put it together. Division II is really strong and it's been a process with our freshman. So we'll see."

The key for the Bears might be how well Archambault runs. She missed much of the season with a bad ankle sprain. This is her third week back and she's looking better and better. Bedford beat Coe-Brown at the Black Bear Invitational earlier this month (69 to 79), but CBNA ran without Archambault.

A key new addition to the team is standout freshman Hannah Parker, the Bears' No. 2 runner, who led her team to the 2010 middle school title. Carney is No. 3, senior Carissa Hodgdon is fourth, and Buiel is fifth. Freshman Katie Scannell could also play a scoring role. The Bears placed sixth at the 2010 New Englands and are currently ranked third in the state.

The Marshwood girls cross country team is enjoying its best season since 2003. The Hawks placed sixth at the Western Maine Class A championships last Saturday at Twin Brook in Cumberland, and are set for the Class A championships this Saturday at the same location at 12:30 p.m.

Marshwood totaled 224 points to place sixth at the 15-team meet, which was won by Cheverus. Five of the team's first seven runners are freshman.

"It's been a great season," said coach Matt Sanzone. "It's been fun as a coach with a group of really young runners learning how to race. They really worked hard all season and had great attitudes."

Marshwood's scoring runners at the regional were freshman Finn Collins (25th), junior Catt Rotini (43rd) and freshman Jen Marcus (47th), Piper Wilber (49th) and Samantha Furbish (53rd). Sophomore Brynne DuBois and freshman Maddy Doyle rounded out the top seven. Sanzone said the transition from junior high to varsity was difficult, given that the distance doubles from 1.5 miles to 3.1 miles.